Wisdom Tooth: Too wise for wisdom
Wisdom Tooth: Too wise for wisdom
By Dr Tahir
Early recognition of the trouble would save a day of pain in future
There are myths and mysteries, apprehensions and fears of all
sorts associated with our third
molar tooth and in due course
of my oral surgery practice
I have come to terms with such
myths. Most of the people co-relating
eruption of third molar with advent
of wisdom, while few are religiously
following that removing it would
make them blind. However, neither
the myths are to be believed nor does
is make us wise.
If one examined the oral cavity,
one would fi nd different types of
teeth, ascribed with various func-
tions. These all show a characteristic eruption pattern and any impediment of any sort would
make eruption pattern erroneous.
The third molar is one such tooth
of our oral cavity that has lost its
eruption path due to many reasons
pertaining to change of diet, phy-
logeny, growth pattern etc.
And prevalence of this tooth
to remain within the bone has
increased over the years. The fre-quency of occurrence is generally
16.7 to 68 % as documented.
Thus, it becomes imperative
that early examination and detec-tion of third molar would prevent
troubles and complications.
This article will mainly discuss various problems/myths/fears
associated with third molar that
render people to delay its removal
and eventually land them into complications.
Firstly, removal of impacted
third molar is not like removing
any other decayed tooth. It’s relatively a minor surgical procedure
and more so need based surgery,
so prophylactic handling of third
molar removal becomes essential
and it has to be based on rationale,
proper diagnosis and robust treat-
ment plan.
Oral and maxillo facial sur-
geons are equipped with proper
evaluation, and they need to weigh
risks and complications to the benefi ts over the long run.
AAOMS, American association
of oral and maxillo facial surgeons
are of the opinion that about 85%
of third molar will eventually
need to be removed, either by late
adolescence or early adulthood
in order to prevent complication
associated with it in future.
Problems of pain and infection,
cysts and tumours associated with
un-erupted third molar are well
documented and nothing new in
our daily clinical practice as oral
surgeons.
Third molars thatdevelop any
symptoms or show any pathology
related to its growth and eruption
need immediate treatment under
specialized oral maxillo facial surgeons.
Oral surgeons evaluate such
patients based on x-ray imaging,
intra oral examination and take
measures to remove such symptomatic third molars much painlessly with little or no post operative complications.
However, irony of the fact is
that due to unawareness among
the people, myths and fears and
unethical practices by dental
quacks, people not only are sceptical about its removal but also
avoid treatment till it becomes
grossly complicated.
Unfortunately people of our
valley have adapted poor sense of
understanding regarding removal
of third molars, like
removal of this tooth would lead
them to loss of wisdom
make them blind
they may lose their sense of
taste
even make them deaf.
Whatever the myths, there is
no data or any empirical evidence
associated with any such claim,
though temporary complications
and risks with any surgical procedure can never be ruled out.
With advancements in medical
sciences, removal of third molars
nowadays is considered minimally
invasive procedure and is painless, and patients are back to work
next day following precautions
and better post operative care.
Surgically removal of third
molars is conducted only if
Insuffi cient space is available in
our jaw
Cysts and tumours associated
with third molar
Repeated infection and infl am-
mation with the tooth
It hinders the eruption of other
tooth
When one needs orthodontic
treatment to align the teeth.
Thus early recognition that
third molar is troublesome at times
would save a day of pain in future.
Ignorance might not be bliss here.
Dr Tahir is MDS oral maxilla facial Surgery.
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